“Do not breathe”: within the chaos of the ice detention center 911 calls

During visits in recent months, Emelie says that her husband, who was held in Stewart until he was deported last month, described a serious overcrowding. “He told me that once Trump took over, they were launching mats in theaters. People were sleeping out there.”

Emelie is a pseudonym granted for privacy. He says that the conditions have put his husband to the test, that he lost weight, has become increasingly anxious and fought to sleep in the middle of noise and tension. He described that he had to wait long stretches between meals. When her husband went down with the flu and increased high fever, he says, he presented more requests for the disease call, but he never received treatments. “He had Covid-19 once,” he says. “Same thing. People would be sick and left just to worsen.”

“You have no chance of Stewart,” says Emelie, “is a death sentence for you and your family.”

When asked about Stewart’s overcrowding, Todd said to Wired: “A bed is offered to all our care”. But three lawyers who regularly visit the structure said that their customers have constantly described sleeping on floors or plastic containers equipped with thin mats. Three relatives of the current and former prisoners have confirmed these accounts.

Corecivic did not reply when he was asked how he defines a “bed”.

Climb to cope

The consequences of the overcrowding extend well beyond Stewart.

“We are seeing many more transfers that occur abruptly and frantically”, says Jeff Migliozzi, director of communications for non -profit freedom for immigrants, who manages the national hotline of detention for immigration. “They are climbing.” Hotline calls more than doubled from 700 to December to 1,600 in March. Many are unanswered, says Migliozzi, because the lines are often too busy.

The shipping data obtained from these detention structures in the United States reflect the wave. Six of the 10 structures examined by Wired have experienced a strong peak of month by month in 911 calls at a certain point of 2025, with emergency shipments rather than tripled in some cases. For example, almost 80 emergency calls were made by the remote South Texas ice elaboration center between January and May. The registers show that the number of calls more than tripled in March, climbing from 10 to February to 31. In a week, the dispatches have deployed 11 separated calls at the structure, which is managed by the Geo group, one of the largest prison operators for profit for the nation.

Migliozzi warns that an increase in 911 calls does not necessarily report the worsening conditions: it could be equally easily reflected more attentive staff or better emergency protocols. But even the straight must be true: a drop in calls, he says, could indicate medical problems not reported or delays in care.

Three of the seven calls 911 obtained from Wired who involved suicide attempts this year arrived from the South Texas Center: in February, a 36 -year -old man swore 20 bench pills. In March, a 37 -year -old prisoner ingested chemicals of cleaning. Two weeks later, a 41 -year -old man was found cutting.

Detention for immigration should not be punitive, says Anthony Enriquez, vice -president of the defense of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. “But the conditions of confinement in detention are so brutal,” he says, “that people attempted suicide while waiting for their day in court”.